Archive for the ‘Joel Rosen’ tag

Joel Rosen, he of Baldwin-Motion fame, took delivery of the first of the new Motion Camaros that bear his name last weekend in Florida, the car’s builder, Howard Tanner of Redline Motorsports in Schenectady, New York, told us.

The car is a Motion Phase III 427 SC rated at 800hp, courtesy of a supercharged and modified LS7 engine. It also sports every chassis modification offered on the new line of Motion Camaros.

The Synergy Green and gold paint scheme was selected by Rosen for the car. The base green is a factory Camaro color, and the stripes were applied at Caprara’s Auto Body Shop in Troy, New York, near Hemmings HQ.

The car was on display during a Chevy-specific event at Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida last weekend, and Tanner said it drew a lot of attention and nice comments. “People were going nuts,” he said. “We ran into a lot of Motion enthusiasts and they appreciated it too.”

Tanner said that Rosen was also enthusiastic about the car and has asked for a second Motion Camaro – a more mellow convertible, in yellow with an automatic transmission.

We’ve written extensively about the tuned up fifth-generation Camaros built by Schenectady, New York–based Redline Motorsports and sold by DeNooyer Performance of Albany, New York, over the past couple of years because, viewed from a historical perspective, they’re the second coming of the Baldwin Motion and Yenko Camaros that today are performance legends.

Now the connection between DeNooyer/Redline and Baldwin/Motion is more than just spiritual. Howard Tanner at Redline will be building brand-spanking new Motion Camaros licensed by Joel Rosen, and the cars will be sold by Dan Carlton of DeNooyer Chevrolet’s DeNooyer Performance Division.

There will be five versions of the 2011 Baldwin-Motion Camaros offered, ranging from 525hp to 800hp, and the cars will carry a warranty ranging from three years/36,000 miles for the base Motion SS-427 Camaro, down to one year and 12,000 miles for the 800hp Motion Phase III 427-SC Camaro Supercar. Pricing will start north of $70,000, and range up to $150,000 for the top-of-the-line car.

The lineup has been dubbed the 2011 Baldwin-Motion Fantastic Five and will include the following (Note: This is just a summary of the models, for the complete list of specs go to www.officialbaldwinmotion.com, which we’re told will be updated with complete information by the time you read this.)

5.) The 800hp Motion Phase III 427-SC Camaro Supercar — When too much isn’t enough, you can opt for the baddest of the new Motion lineup. This is essentially powered by a supercharged LS7 427, though the engine has to be reworked to handle the boost from the supercharger. It too gets CNC ported heads, a custom ground camshaft, the intake and exhaust treatment as well as a whole host of suspension mods: Pfadt billet rear cradle mounts, Pfadt differential bushings, Pfadt trailing arms and tie rods, Pfadt coil-overs front and rear, Pfadt swaybars, Brembo six-piston front and Brembo four-piston rear brakes. This car will ride on custom Motion wheels plus get the full-on exterior graphics and badging and interior treatment.

One of the premier specialty car builders of the 1960s and 1970s, Joel Rosen, who is back in the car-building business, will team up with another famed name in 2007.

Baldwin Motion will team up with Lingenfelter Performance, which will build the engines for the Motion Phase III and SuperCoupe 1969 Camaros. Rosen is legendary for his 1960s Camaros, Corvettes, Vegas and others that rolled out of his Long Island, New York, shop. He also was an accomplished drag racer with Bill Mitchell and Dennis Ferrara.

Rosen and his team are selling the new cars and debuted the SuperCoupe at the 2005 SEMA show in Las Vegas. That very car sold for more than $450,000 at Barrett-Jackson 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The car appeared on the cover of the April 2006 Hemmings Muscle Machines, and that cover is on the Official Baldwin Motion Web site. All the cars are 1969-vintage Camaros, not reproductions, heavily modified with all new parts.

Rosen will “oversee” the building of the engines and work closely with engineers at Lingenfelter Performance. Rosen also will spec out the engines with Lingenfelter engineers, said Larry Jaworske, chief operating officer of Motion, LLC.

(This post originally appeared in the November 2, 2006, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)

Buyers are paying twisted amounts of money for Buick’s GSX torque monster: One changed hands recently for an eye-popping $635,000

Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick? That was an advertising slogan way back when. Buick always had a stodgy image, but the Gran Sports and later GS models were some of the most feared cars on the streets.

The 1970 Buick Stage 1 455 produced more torque than any other American car—510-lbs.ft. Well, someone must have really wanted a Buick, because during an Internet sale last week, a 1970 Buick GSX sold for $635,000—that’s not a misprint.

The car was based in Woodstock, Georgia, and according to Marty Schorr, who worked with Joel Rosen, better known as Mr. Motion back in the day, this is the only GSX ever converted by Motion Performance. The car was converted and tuned by Rosen’s shop in April 1970 at the facility on Long Island, New York.

But, c’mon, $635,000 for a 1970 Buick of any type seems a little ridiculous. Some people in the hobby have been talking about the muscle car market softening a bit because interest rates are up, as is the stock market. You gotta be kidding. Is the $1 million Buick that far off?

(This post originally appeared in the October 26, 2006, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)

Baldwin Motion is back again this year at SEMA and will be introducing its newest creation—the Camaro SuperSpeedster. Last year, Joel Rosen, who built the ground-pounding Motion cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s, unveiled his new red and white 1969 Camaro powered by a 540-cu.in. V-8, built by Bill Mitchell, who worked for Rosen back in Motion’s heyday on Sunrise Highway on Long Island, New York.

The car, which graced the cover of the April 2006 Hemmings Muscle Machines, sold for more than $400,000 at Barrett-Jackson. The car was sold to a Chandler, Arizona, real estate developer. Rosen and his business partners have restarted Baldwin Motion and are scheduled to build a dozen of the Phase III Camaros. Several have been sold, to date.

This year at SEMA, the Motion gang is unveiling another new Camaro, but this one looks more like a Porsche Speedster from the one spy photo we’ve seen. The photo depicts only the driver’s seat, showing the window channel filled, giving it a roadster appearance.

Among the few details released: The car will have a handcrafted two-seat interior; a 600hp, 540-cu.in. big-block with chrome and loads of billet aluminum pieces. The car also will have four-wheel independent suspension, power rack and pinion steering, power hood and tonneau and the short windshield style like a Porsche Speedster.

(This post originally appeared in the October 19, 2006, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)

The first (one of 12 to be built) Baldwin-Motion big-block 1969 Camaro has been sold to Ohio Chevrolet dealer Dave Flynn and will be delivered to his dealership next week.
“Mr. Motion” Joel Rosen is back in the car building business and debuted his first new car in many years last year at SEMA. That car, featured on the cover of the April 2006 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines, sold to an Arizona man for $450,000 at Barrett-Jackson in January.
The “new” dozen are limited-production SS-427 and Phase III big-block 540-cu.in. Camaros. The prices start at $169,000 and $189,000 respectively, said Marty Schorr, who is working with Rosen and Motion.
Flynn’s Motion Red, Phase III Camaro is powered by a blueprinted, Kinsler-injected, 565-inch Motion big-block with aluminum heads and features a five-speed manual, new Motion IRS rear suspension, eight-piston front and three-piston rear Motion/SSB discs, rack-and-pinion steering, red leather interior, air conditioning and a Sony stereo. The delivered price is about $250,000.
For more check out www.officialbaldwinmotion.com.

(This post originally appeared in the June 29, 2006, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)

When I went by the shop yesterday and looked in the window, he had several hi-po carbs in the window under mountains of dust. They were tagged from an inventory, ready for this . . . .July 1964! This place is like a time warp! He has his plaques hanging from Bridgehampton Race Track from the early ’60’s!, photos from 1949!

I really believe he would be a great interview, just not sure how he would react to an interview. In Frank’s words to me about a year ago, “Joel Rosen was better at marketing”. Frank has a great reputation as well, just subtle. Below are a few photos I took yesterday.

Gotta wonder exactly how many of these old speed shops still exist? And how exactly they still exist? Also gotta wonder what Frank has in his garage.

Just 12 of these all-new Baldwin-Motion Camaros are slated to be built.
photo courtesy www.officialbaldwinmotion.com

Joel Rosen made a dramatic return in November 2005 at SEMA when he and his associates, Larry Jaworske, Joel Ehrenpreis and Marty Schorr introduced the first Motion Camaro since Nixon was president. The car sold for $450,000 at the 2006 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Well, Rosen and his company are now building the 1969 Baldwin-Motion SS 427 and Phase III Camaros with modern technology-new cars designed to capture the timeless passion and performance of two of the most sought-after high-performance Chevrolets ever built. Baldwin-Motion is building a limited number of 450hp SS 427 and 600hp Phase III Camaro coupes and convertibles. Prices will start at $169,000 for the 427 model and $189,000 for the Phase III 540 Camaro.
“They will be custom-built to order and showcase unmatched quality, fit, finish and performance. Each of the serialized vehicles will be performance tested, fully documented and signed by me,” Rosen said. Just 12 will be built. All “new” Baldwin-Motion Camaros are built using premium-quality 1969 Camaro donor cars and will retain original 1969 VINs so they can be easily registered and insured anywhere.

Rosen is best known for the high-performance Chevrolets he built during the late 1960s and early 1970s at Motion Performance in Baldwin, Long Island, New York. Rosen bought cars primarily from Baldwin Chevrolet and modified them. He even offered a money-back guarantee if the cars would not reach a certain elapsed time and top end speed in the quarter mile. “I never paid out a dime”, he told Hemmings Muscle Machines.

Motion Camaro numero uno, the car Joel Rosen unveiled at SEMA in Vegas, will be up for grabs at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January.

Joel Rosen, who built the tire-shredding Baldwin-Motion Supercars of the late 1960s and early 1970s, is back in business and recently unveiled his new car, the Baldwin-Motion Supercoupe-an actual 1969 Chevy Camaro, but
with 2005 technology from front to rear. He unveiled the car at the SEMA convention in Las Vegas recently and told a hushed crowd the price would be $427,000.
So, one can only imagine how much this car will sell for at one of the auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona. There are mixed reports about which auction company is handling the sale. We learned the car will be at Barrett-Jackson as lot number 1290. The car up for grabs will be serial number 1-the Camaro Rosen unveiled in Las Vegas. Plans are to build only a dozen.
This is no ordinary 1969 Camaro, but rather a hand-built, all-steel body built in Florida and powered by a 530-cu.in. Merlin V-8, built by Bill Mitchell, who was Rosen’s service manager nearly 40 years ago. The all-aluminum engine features 700hp with options up to 1,000hp.

“Basically, we’ll build it any way you want,” Rosen told reporters.
Rosen also said he would offer a performance guarantee, as he did in the early days. He never paid out a dime. However, he would not say what that guarantee would be until the car is tested.

Feast your eyes on the powerplant for the all-new Motion Camaro set to debut at SEMA.

You read in Hemmings e-Weekly months ago that Mr. Motion, Joel Rosen, is back and producing a dozen high-performance 1969 Camaro Super Coupes which recall the glory days of his Motion Camaros, built on Long Island, New York. The new car will debut at SEMA in Las Vegas in less than three weeks, but to whet your appetite, we have some more detailed information about its powerplant.
The new Camaro features an all-aluminum 700hp Merlin/Motion big-block built by Bill Mitchell. This blueprinted and dyno-tuned 540-cu.in. V-8 has a World Products aluminum block with a 4.50-inch bore, 4.25-inch stroke and
4.840-inch bore spacing. Other high-quality internals include Eagle 6.535-inch H-beam connecting rods, forged crank and 10:1 compression forged pistons. The roller-cammed engine also features Cross Ram fuel injection custom-built by Jim Kinsler. The cylinder heads are topped off with polished alloy MOTION-badged rocker arm covers, and Rosen is throwing in some yet undisclosed NOS parts.
Backing up this monster will be a specially prepared Tremec TKO five-speed and fully independent rear with a Dana 44 posi unit. Hardened steel, high-torque axles are included. The four-wheel independent suspension will have polished unequal-length control arms, toe-in control links, fully adjustable coil-over shocks and anti-roll bars. Topping this off is rack-and-pinion steering, said Martyn L. Schoor, who handles Rosen’s public relations.

(This post originally appeared in the October 13, 2005, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)